Rabbi Daniel & Rabbanit Batya Friedman

Rabbi Daniel and Rabbanit Batya Friedman came to Beth Israel in 2002. Rabbi Friedman was born in the UK and grew up in Australia, where he learned in yeshivot in Sydney and Melbourne, and received his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales. He has Semicha Yadin Yadin from Rav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, Av Beit Din of the Beth Din of America, and a Masters of Arts in Political Science from the University of Alberta.

He began his career as rabbi of Newtown Synagogue, Sydney, at age 21, the youngest rabbi in Australia, although it seems that the calling to serve the community came much earlier. When his father was hired as the youth director of South Head Synagogue in Sydney, the family was interviewed. Upon being asked what eight-year-old Daniel wanted to be when he grows up, he replied, “the first rabbi on the moon”. Rabbi Friedman has yet to join NASA. From Australia, Rabbi Friedman continued on to New York to pursue a Master of Arts in Jewish Studies at Touro College. There he met Batya, a graduate of Brooklyn College with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, who was working as a financial analyst, doing contract work for Merrill Lynch. They were married in 2000, and have four girls, Millie (Miriam Leah), Joey (Sarah Joar), Jamie-Anna (Yemima Chana) and Bree Elle (Ella Bracha).

Since the arrival of the Friedmans, the shul has seen a wonderful renewal, with daily morning and evening minyanim, a host of weekly shiurim and the hiring of our youth/NCSY couple. Rabbi & Rabbanit Friedman are actively involved in the Edmonton Jewish community. Rabbi Friedman is past president of Jewish Family Services and has served on the boards of Talmud Torah and Menorah Academy. Rabbanit Batya was the vice president of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, serving as Israel advocacy chair. Rabbi Friedman has strengthened Yiddishkeit in Edmonton, raising the mechitza to universal standards and revitalizing the Edmonton Kollel giving it the EDJGE! The Edmonton Eruv is now in the works. In January 2006, Rabbi Friedman was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal for service to community.

Rabbanit Batya runs the successful MaTaN Bat-Mitzvah program and started the popular weekly Ladies’ Latté & Learning at Starbucks West Edmonton Mall and other popular women’s classes, among juggling her ‘spare time’ between being a mommy, a financial analyst for CIBC Wood Gundy, and student in the MBA program at the University of Alberta.